Finger tip control belt buckles

ABSTRACT

SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT TUBULAR-FORM BUCKLE BODY HAS A HEADED PIN SWINGABLE ON THE FRONT WALL IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE, AND IN ONE POSITION EXTENDS STRAIGHT TO THE REAR WALL. THE HEAD OF THE PIN IS EXPOSED AT THE FRONT OF THE BUCKLE, IS MOUNTED AS PART OF A BALL JOINT, AND IS MANIPULATED BY FINGER TIP MOVEMENT TO BRING THE PIN INTO AND OUT OF A HOLE IN THE END OF THE BELT WHOSE OTHER END IS MOUNTED ON A BAIL EXTENDING FROM THE BUCKLE BODY. AS A MODIFICATION, THE BELT IS SEPARATE, BOTH ENDS HAVE HOLES, AND BOTH SURFACES THEREOF ARE FINISHED. THE BUCKLE THEREFOR HAS TWO SPACED HEADED PIN UNITS, EACH TO DEAL WITH ONE BELT END. WITH SUCH CONSTRUCTION, THE BELT IS REVERSIBLE.

Mardi 16, 1971 s., WEBB 3,570,072

FINGER 'IIP CONTROL BELT BUCKLES Filed July 10. 1969 o y Flas Flc 2 a vll/ll [Il l [lll/[Ill QW .9 3. C

(23 l? 28 22 2g v 2v so v 77777777p777777777]/fn f l j 34 INVENTOR, Somuel Webb,

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent O 3,570,072 FINGER TIP CONTROL BELT BUCKLES Samuel Webb, 1246 42nd St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11219 Filed July 10, 1969, Ser. No. 840,615 Int. Cl. A44b 1]/00 ILS. Cl. 24-74 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Substantially iiat tubular-form buckle body has a headed pin swingable on the front wall in a horizontal plane, and in one position extends straight to the rear wall. The head of the pin is exposed at the front of the buckle, is mounted as part of a ball joint, and is manipulated by iinger tip movement to bring the pin into and out of a hole in the end of the belt Whose other end is mounted on a bail extending from the buckle body. As a modification, the belt is separate, both ends have holes, and both surfaces thereof are finished. The buckle therefor has two spaced headed pin units, each to deal with one belt end. With such construction, the belt is reversible.

The present invention relates to buckles of the type carried on the end of a belt, with provision of a swingable element on the buckle body which need be entered into one of a series of holes along the other end of the belt.

Heretofore, the swingable element was a tongue on the buckle body. It was necessary to sharply bend the belt to get the tongue into the hole, which it entered at the back surface of the belt and extended through the hole, onto the front surface of the belt. The belt also has to be sharply bent to get the tongue out of the hole, to take the belt E. All this, required extensive hand movements. Further, the belt in use, did not lie ilat through the buckle. The belt surface became transversely creased and the tongue caused deformation in the belt body, along the line of holes.

`It is therefore one of the objects of this invention to provide novel and improved belt buckle constructions which obviate the foregoing objectional incidents.

A further object thereof is to provide belt buckles of the character described, of novel, improved and simple constructions, which are easy to manipulate, reasonable in cost to manufacture, convenient in use, and which have good appearance, plain or decorated to suit all asthetic tastes, and which are eiiicient in carrying out the functions for which they are designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For one practice of this invention, the buckle body is of tubular form to admit and guide a belt end flat thereinto; said belt end having spaced holes therealong. The front wall of the buckle has a socket intermediate its ends, opening in the front surface; such socket holding the head of a headed pin in ball-joint fashion; said head being at socket mouth, while the pin part extends, in one position, straight to the back wall and is guided for movement in a horizontal plane; said pin being adapted to enter a belt hole. The other end of the belt is mounted on a bail extending from the buckle body. In a modification, the belt is separate, both its ends are ICC provided with spaced holes therealong, and both surfaces of the belt are finished. The buckle therefor has a pair of spaced sockets with associated headed pins, each to deal with one of the belt ends. In such buckle, the belt is reversible, as either surface thereof is suitable to be in front. Manipulation of these buckles is by iinger-tip movement of the pin heads.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

FIG. l is a perspective View of a buckle made in accordance with teachings of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a section taken at line 2 2 in FIG. l, having one end of the belt attached to the buckle body, on a bail provided therefor.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view of FIG. 2, showing the other end of the belt slid into the buckle body.

FIG. 4 is an exploded View showing in perspective, the parts constituting the body of the buckle of FIG. l.

FIG. 5 is a perspective View showing a buckle of moditied construction.

FIG. 6 is a section taken at line 6 6 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the belt for the buckle of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged section of the buckle body taken at line 8-8 in FIG. l.

FIGS. 9 and l0 are sectional views taken in similar manner as FIG. 8, showing modiiied constructions providing ball joint mountings for the heads of the beltengaging pins.

In the drawing, the numeral 15 designates generally a belt buckle whose body member indicated generally as 16, is a flat tubular structure of rectangular cross section, which in the embodiment illustrated, is comprised of the rear channel member 17, which is closed by an intermediate plate 1K8 to make the tubular form for admission of the free end of the belt 19 which has a series of holes in a line therealong along center, as indicated at 20, 20. A front cover plate 21 on said intermediate plate 18, has a central opening denoted generally as 22. The body parts 21, 18, and the part 17 which has an integral bail 2.3` at one end for attachment of the other end of the belt 19 thereto, may be of plastic cemented together to form the assembly constituting the buckle body, or they may be of metal welded together, or of any other suitable material and fabrication. It is evident that the parts 17 and 18, may be integral. However, before putting on the cover member 21, a headed pin desigriated generally by the numeral 24, is set in as shown, namely, its head 25 sets within the opening 22, while its pin part 26, is set through the elongated slot 27, which is centrally lengthwise through the plate 13, and is of a length to extend towards the bail end of the buckle body, so the said pin part 26y can be positioned perpendicular to said plates, to reach the rear wall of the buckle body as in FIG. 2, and when made a bit longer, a stop edge 28 may be provided by a sloping dent in the bodys rear wall, to limit pin movement, and said pin part 2.6 is free for swinging movement through said slot 27, to an inclined position as shown in FIG. v3, to clear the belt end being inserted into body 16.

When the members 18 and 21 are assembled, the opening 22 is a socket to hold the pins head 25 in ball-joint fashion; said head being spherical but preferably the major part of a sphere with the flat surface on top which comes flush with the mouth rim of said socket when the pin is perpendicular to the plate 18 as shown in FIG. 2. Various ways of making such socket are shown in the FIGS. 8-10, where the letter C denotes the full sphere and is shown by a dash-dot line. In FIG. 8, the lower section 30 of the socket is frusto-conical, tapering towards the mouth of the socket. The section 31 downward from the mouth of the socket, is a section of a sphere, narrowing towards the mouth of the socket and including a full diametral plane; said plane being at the juncture of said sections. However, if the head 25, or the plate 21 is of a plastic having some resilient quality, then as shown in said FIG. 8, said section 31 of the socket, may be a central section or include a central section of a sphere C. In FIG. 9, the lower section 32 of the socket is frusto-conical tapering towards the mouth of the socket. The section 33 downward from the mouth of the socket, is also frustoconical, but of an angle more acute than that of section 32. In FIG. l0, the socket 34 is frusto-conical, tapering towards the mouth of the socket. In all events, the head of the headed pin 24, shall fit in rolling contact, and the lower part of the socket shall permit the full extent of swing necessary for the pin part 26.

For a belt 35, both of whose faces are suitable to be in front, the buckle 15 is provided, in which the belt can be reversed, meaning the belt can be used with either of its faces exposed. Here, the belt is separate from the buckle, and is provided with a few holes spaced along each of the end portions, as shown at 36 and 36" respectively. The buckle 15' is longer than the buckle 15, for it is to accommodate the belts end portions, one belt end to be inserted into a buckle body end, respectively. Hence, each end section of the buckle 15', has the construction of a buckle 15 minus the bail 23, but the headed pins 24' and 24", must be swingable as will be explained.

The function of a buckle of this class, is to form a strap or belt into a loop. In the use of the buckle 15, one end of the belt 29 is anchored to the buckle body end on its bail 23, while the other end of said belt is entered into the other end of said buckle body as shown in FIG. 3, to become engaged by the pin 26. Upon such entrance of the belt, it will swing the headed pin towards the bail, meaning towards the anchored end of the belt, if said pin is not already in such position. In the use of the buckle 15', the pin at either end of the buckle, when engaging a belt end, may be deemed the anchorage akin in function of the bail. In all instances, the direction of swing of the pin from straight position as in FIG. 2 to slanted position as in FIG. 3, must be towards anchorage end which is the direction in which the end of the belt being inserted into the buckle body, travels. In the buckle 15' as shown in FIG. 6, the pins of 24' and 24", when swung from beltengaging position, must be towards each other in converging relation as said pins 26', 26" are shown in FIG. 6, and so the slots 27', 27 extend towards each other to permit such movement. The ends of said slots which are most remote from each other, are such distance apart that they act as stops for said pins 26', 26" when such pins are swung away from each other to be parallel to each other which is their belt hole-engaging position. The exposed surfaces of the buckles may be of any configuration and decoration. In fact the numeral 40, indicates a decorative insert between the left and right complete beltengaging structures, whose headed pins are denoted by tle numerals 24, 24 respectively.

It is evident that to don the belt of FIG. 2, it is set to encircle the waistline, and the free end of this belt 19, is inserted into the buckle body as shown in FIG. 3. This will automatically hold the pin 26 in slanted position. Upon reaching the required tightness, the belt is inserted a bit further while contracting the belly, while holding a finger tip on the pins head 25, which is then pressed to 4 turn in its socket and set straight into the hole as 20 which it has approached and capable to enter. This holds the belt closed. To remove the belt, the wearer breathes in to contract the belly while holding a finger tip on the pins head 25 and manipulating it to turn whereby the pin becomes released of the belt which is now free to be withdrawn from the buckle body 16. The operation of the buckle 15' is readily understandable from the above, and needs no further explanation.

It is to be especially noted that the buckle body guides the belt entrance to be flat as it is moved thereinto, and that the belt is never bent to accomplish pin entrance or withdrawal. There is no element pressing on the belt surface or biting intoit to make bends, creases, dents or other deformations in its surface, and that a `simple finger tip pressure on the head of the pin, operates the buckle.

I claim:

1. A belt buckle comprising a body member having spaced lengthwise-connected front wall and rear wall parts, forming a guide for the insertion horizontal and at at one end thereof, between said wall parts, of one end of a belt having at least one hole therethrough, means at the other end of said body member, adapted for anchoring the other end of the belt thereto; the front wall part having a socket therein whose mouth opening is in the front surface thereof; the bottom wall of said socket having a slot therealong communicative with the space between said front and rear wall parts, and a pin adapted to enter said hole in the belt; said pin having a head; said head having at least part of a spherical surface; said head being housed in said socket in rolling contact therewith and constituting therewith a structure in the manner of a ball joint; said pin extending from said head, through said slot to the rear wall part, perpendicular to said rear wall part; said head being accessible at the mouth of the socket; said head when moved in said socket, causing the pin to be swung to a slanted position allowing entrance of the belt end between said wall parts and past said pin; said slot extending towards said anchorage means to allow such pin movement; stop means on the buckle halting the return movement of the pin when the pin again is in position perpendicular to the rear wall part.

2. A belt buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein the body member is a fiat tubular member.

3. A belt buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein said head of the pin, includes a diametral plane.

4. A belt buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein the anchorage means is a bail.

5. A belt buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein the anchorage means is a second substantially identical buckle; both buckles having a common front wall part; the sockets being spaced along the unitary structure formed by said buckles and their pins being swingable from their positions where they are perpendicular to the rear wall parts, only towards one another to assume their respective slanted positions; the slots extending towards each other to permit such pin movement; said unitary structure being adapted for use with a belt which is separate, has at least one hole in each end region and whose surfaces are suitable to be respectively, the exposed surface thereof when in use; said pins being adapted to enter and extend through one of the said belt holes respectively.

6. A belt buckle as defined in claim 1, is provided by having that end of the slot, said pin moves away from to assume slanted position, to serve to halt the return movement of the pin when the pin is again in its position perpendicular to the rear wall part.

7. A belt buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein the stop means is provided by the wall of a dent in the rear wall part.

8. A belt buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein the section of the socket nearestI the rear wall part, is frustoconical, narrowing towards the mouth of the socket, and

the remainder thereof is of the shape of the section of a. socket is truste-conical, narrowing towards the mouth of sphere including a diametral plane. the socket.

9. A belt buckle as dened in claim "8, wherein the sec- References Cited on Iosthlee slelrtl rdtoaleimetral plane, narrowing UNITED STATES PATENTS Wa. e

1o. A beit buckle es defined in claim 1, wherein the 5 1,26%@ 5/1918 Hall 24-74UX section of the socket nearest the rear wall, is frusto- 29 6/1943 Westereld 24-74 conical and the remainder thereof is also frustoconical; 4 67 1 4/1949 Roehrl 24"'74AX both sections narrowing towards the mouth of the socket. DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner 11. A belt buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein the 10 

